Envoy: Iran must be invited to Syria conference

The Turkish ambassador to Iran says the Islamic Republic must be invited to the upcoming peace conference designed to contain the ongoing crisis in Syria, Press TV reported.

In a Wednesday meeting with Chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Tehran, Umit Yardim said Ankara believes that Tehran's attendance will help the Geneva II conference take an effective step towards resolving the deadly turmoil in Syria.

Yardim further underlined the need for cooperation among the major powers in the Muslim world, including Iran and Turkey, in an effort to counter the spread of terrorism in the Middle East.

Boroujerdi, for his part, said Tehran has from the start supported a "Syrian-Syrian resolution" to the foreign-sponsored unrest in the Arab country.

Iran "believes the crisis in this Islamic country will merely end through dialogue and negotiations among Syrian groups," stressed the Iranian lawmaker.

Boroujerdi further described the upcoming meeting of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) as a "good opportunity" for Islamic countries to discuss the existing problems in the Muslim world. The ninth IIPU summit is to be held in Tehran in February.

After several delays, the Geneva II meeting is scheduled to open in the Swiss city of Montreux, near Geneva, on January 22. However, there are speculations that there might be another delay in the long-awaited conference as Syria's foreign-backed opposition remains divided over attending the event.

Tehran says it will not accept any preconditions to attend the Geneva II talks on the ongoing violence in Syria, which has so far claimed over 100, 000 lives and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.